Aranui 5

M/V Aranui 5 is a dual passenger/cargo vessel that entered service on 12 December 2015 between Tahiti and the Marquesas Islands.[3] With a homeport of Papeete, French Polynesia, the Aranui 5 replaced the Aranui 3 which entered service in 2003.[4]

Aranui 5, 2015
History
France
Name	Aranui 5
Owner	Compagnie Polynesienne de Transport Maritime (CPTM)
Port of registry	Papeete, French Polynesia (France)
Builder	Huanghai Shipbuilding, Shandong, China[1]
In service	12 December 2015
Homeport	Papeete, French Polynesia
Identification	IMO number: 9677492 Call sign: FIQC MMSI number: 546018800[2]
Status	In service
General characteristics
Type	Passenger-cargo ship
Tonnage	7,500 GT 3,300 DWT
Length	126 m (413 ft 5 in)
Beam	24 m (78 ft 9 in)
Draught	5.5 m (18 ft 1 in)[1]
Decks	10
Speed	15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)[1]
Capacity	256
Crew	64[1]

No Aranui 4 ever went into service, because the number four is regarded as unlucky in China,[5] from which Wing Wong, founder of Compagnie Polynesienne de Transport Maritime (CPTM), the family business that operates the Aranui voyages, emigrated to Tahiti in the 1930s.[4][6]

Aranui 5, like its predecessor, is registered as a passenger ship under the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), for international operation.[4]

As well as carrying cargo to and from the six ports in the Marquesas Islands, Aranui 5 operates a passenger service and tourist cruise as part of its monthly 12-day itinerary; the ship also stops at the Rangiroa and Tuamotu atolls before returning to Tahiti.[7]

Additional Aranui 5 trips operate to other islands in French Polynesia and beyond, including Rarotonga and the Cook Islands and once a year to Pitcairn Island.[7]